Plasencia

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Blind Review: Plasencia Year of the Tiger

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The Plascencia family has supplied tobacco for many cigar makers and boasts a large inventory of quality aged tobacco. With their own label they continue to prove that the care they take in growing and processing equates to a superior product. I have enjoyed many cigars in their profile and the range and blends always seem to impress.

In keeping with the Chinese New Year, Plasencia released the 2022 Year of the Tiger. This toro has a decade of aged tobacco from their farms in the blend. Read on for the blind review.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Plascencia Year of the Tiger
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan
  • Binder: Nicaraguan
  • Filler: Nicaraguan
  • Size: 6” x 54 (Toro)

Blind Review Notes: Plasencia Year of the Tiger

Appearance & Construction

This imposing cigar has a silky claro wrapper that despite its size is smoother than I anticipated. As I feel the stick it is chock full of tobacco from top to bottom.  The smell from the foot is of barnyard with wood, notes of plum and pepper that hit my nostrils on the end.  In hand the roll is steady which is the hallmark of a premium crafted smoke.

Taste & Smoking Characteristics

Straight cut is clean from the head and as I take a dry draw earth, pepper and lemon zest hit the front of my tongue and the sides of my mouth. I gently torch the toro and my first puff is hearty with impressions of spice and citrus. My palate is quickly enlivened, and my next draw is a combination of sweet and spicy with rich tobacco notes. I take a retrohale and am greeted with almond, spice, and cedar with a richness on the exhales that lingers. The ash is whitish grey and looking solid thus far. The body is in the medium range and with another draw there’s coffee and Asian spices that gives this cigar a complexity from the start.

The flavors hang on long and there is more of a grey ash towards the midpoint of the smoke. There’s milk chocolate along with nuts as I take a slow draw that lingers. Another puff brings cedar and citrus with cocoa and cream on the finish. The body is moving into the medium to full range and a retrohale brings chocolate notes that become sweeter and end with cinnamon spice on the exhale.  I’m picking up more cedar and coffee that is rather pronounced. The head of the wrapper is beginning to splay a bit which does not seem to affect the flavor or draw just cumbersome more than anything. Despite this being a large toro it burns faster than I expected and with each puff the flavor continues to expand.

The last third of this cigar kicks up the strength with bold espresso and nuts that come on strong. Asian spice returns and even with the head of the wrapper loosening up, the complexity of the toro continues. As these flavors continue to develop, cedar and earth come into play leaving a slightly shorter finish than expected. I take a retrohale where upfront flavors of pepper and oak greet my sinus ending in a saltiness that comes through my mouth. With a final draw there is some wonderful notes of chocolate with a sweet and savory finish. At this point the head of the wrapper makes it difficult to smoke although it is pretty much down to the nub and has been a pleasure tasting

Conclusion

This toro delivered big flavors throughout the long smoke. Lots of spices, citrus, cedar, cocoa all lingering on the palate. Retrohale delivered nuts, chocolate, cinnamon, and wood that resonated in a medium bodied style. The one thing that hurt the score was the head of the cigar began to splay midway which was cumbersome while smoking however it did not affect the flavors.

On finding out this was a Plascencia blend, I was not surprised because of the nuances in the tobacco with the plethora of aged stock they have. I would recommend picking up at least one Year of The Tiger to try and if at $40 a stick your budget can grab more than the quality is certainly there.

Final Rating 93

Blind Review: Plasencia Alma Fuerte Sixto Colorado Claro

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Plasencia Sixto Colorado Claro Review

The Plasencia Alma Fuerte Sixto would be on top of the list when I think about unique shapes for cigars. Unlike the traditional four-sided box press or cylinder shape, the Sixto is a six-sided hexagon shape. It was part of the three original vitola Alma Fuerte release back in 2016.  In December 2020, a lighter version of the Sixto was introduced, with a ten-year aged Colorado Claro wrapper from Nicaragua replacing the original Jalapa wrapper.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Plasencia Alma Fuerte Sixto/Hexagon Colorado Claro
  • Wrapper: Nicaragua Colorado Claro
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: Gordo (6″x60) 

Appearance & Construction

The unique hexagon-shaped cigar gives off a strange familiarity to an ex-Dungeons & Dragons player. I find myself rolling the cigar between my fingers while studying it as if I was about to toss it on the table like a die. 

The cafe au lait-colored cigar had a soft sheen on the wrapper as the sunlight scanned across each surface. Upon close examination, several visible veins spreading throughout the cigar; reminds me of a Lichtenberg figure. 

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The wrapper gives off a faint sweetness, and the scent becomes more noticeable as time past. On the foot of the cigar, I got the fragrance of dry apricot.  After shaving off the cap with my Xikar XO cutter, I took a few puffs of the cigar and tasted dry apricot, matching the scent from the foot. I did not get any spice from the cold draw. However, my lips started burning after making contact with the wrapper and the draw restrictiveness was about 7 out of 10, which is near perfect for my preference.

A stream of velvety smoke starting to dance around my head as I was lighting the foot, and it carried a scent of sugary roasted peanuts as if I was passing by one of those peanut carts on 42nd street. I became impatient as the scent teased me to no end, yet I couldn’t quicken the lighting process since the cigar has a thicker ring gauge, and I did not want it to burn. With my patience came the reward as I slowly took a few puffs and let the smoke blanket my palate. The first thing that jumps out at me is the taste of freshly baked bread, then toasted nuts, dry hay, and red pepper spice. The finish on this cigar is refreshing, with a hint of citrus. The retrohale gives off lightly roasted coffee beans, more toasted nuts, and red pepper spice that kind of overstayed their welcome. 

The burn on the Colorado Claro Sixto is very even and slow. The ash held on strong as if it was holding together with glue.  I made it to the halfway point before gravity took its prize. 

The profile was pretty consistent two thirds in and the majority of the final third. After 2 hours, when I finally reached the nub, the red pepper spice ramped up significantly without losing any existing flavors and made me savor the last few puffs before putting it down. What a great way to finish the cigar; but was the journey worth this tiny amount of build-up?

Conclusion

I enjoyed the Alma Fuerte Colorado Claro Sixto. The combination of lightly roasted coffee with freshly baked bread made the smoke very enjoyable, and not to mention the impeccable construction. Unfortunately, the experience became quickly mundane from a lack of build up of complexity, spice, coupled with being an extra-long smoke. 

Final Rating: 86

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Blind Review: Plasencia Cosecha 149 Gordito

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The Plasencia family has long grown massive amounts of tobacco for the industry’s largest cigar brands. It is only in recent years that the company began developing its own core line of cigars, beginning with Plasencia Alma Fuerte (a tremendous cigar) and most recently the Plasencia Cosecha 149. Cosecha 149 translates to “harvest 149” in English and represents a Honduran puro from the company’s 149th harvest in 2014.

Blend Specifics

  • Cigar Reviewed: Plasencia Cosecha 149 Gordito
  • Wrapper: Honduran
  • Binder: Honduran
  • Filler: Honduran
  • Size: 4 7/8 x 60

Blind Review: Plasencia Cosecha 149 Gordito

Appearance and Construction

The wrapper is dark chocolate in color with a box press shape and solid in hand. To the touch it’s rustic and dry with several veins across the sides. With a squeeze there’s a spongy quality to it as its not fully packed with tobacco. The foot smells of pepper which hits my sinus and I’m picking up cocoa notes as well.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

I take a straight cut with my Xikar cutter and clip the head of this thick cigar. The dry draw delivers raisins, berry, and oak on the tongue. I gently toast the foot with my Lamborghini lighter and the first puff is toasted marshmallow with wood and char. The ring gauge of this large smoke is not comfortable in my mouth and is a less than pleasurable beginning. There’s some allspice on the next puff along with more toasty notes. I take a retrohale where I’m getting leather and a dry sensation as I exhale. Thus far the cigar is in the medium range with barnyard, earth, and wood on the short finish.

Halfway through and the ash is firm which is predominantly white in color. The burn line is razor sharp and the quality and combustion is spot on. The flavors are becoming deeper with coffee, spice, and toffee on the finish. The retrohale gives off the same drying sensation as before with leather and spice taking over the palate. Toast and char return on the next puff which is very similar from the cigar’s beginning. Thus far there hasn’t been a tremendous change in the flavor profile which makes the smoking experience lackluster. Taking a slow draw there’s black pepper and some minerality on my tongue which has elevated the cigar to a mid to fuller range.

There’s graham cracker along with cedar on the final third with a longer finish that has been present with this smoke. I’m picking up some maple which has sweetened the cigar balanced by earth and leather. The retrohale delivers upfront espresso bean with cedar and a bitter finish. There are red fruits alongside citrus and pepper that feels disjointed on my palate as I take another puff. Bakers’ chocolate comes through with that cocoa bean and bitterness combination. With a final draw the cedar dominates with a creamy finish that lasted longer than most of the cigar.

Conclusion

Not being a fan of such thick gauges in general, this was a challenge to smoke. I find the girth uncomfortable while I’m smoking. Nevertheless, I can objectively speak to the flavors I did receive and base my review on such. The cigar started off with toast and oak followed by leather that dried my palate. The more pleasant notes were the coffee, cedar, and pepper notes that I got while I took a long draw. The cigar stayed in the medium range and the construction was solid. There wasn’t much complexity in this smoke and it came off one dimensional. The blend didn’t quite do it for me which is surprising as I’ve enjoyed several Plasencia lines especially the Alma Fuerte. I would recommend picking up some of those or maybe a Cosecha in another vitola that may represent the tobaccos better.

Final Rating: 87